Kathleen Sue Spielberg (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Nail; born November 3, 1953), known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American retired actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott, an American nightclub singer and performer in ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action- adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', ...

'' (1984), directed by eventual husband

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

. Since then, she starred in '' Dreamscape'' (1984), '' Power'' (1986), ''

SpaceCamp ''SpaceCamp'' is a 1986 American science fiction adventure film inspired by the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Directed by Harry Winer, story by Patrick Bailey and Larry B. Williams, screenplay by Clifford Green (as W. W. Wicket) and ...

'' (1986), '' Black Rain'' (1989), '' Love Affair'' (1994), '' Just Cause'' (1995), and '' The Love Letter'' (1999). Her portraiture work has been shown in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Early life

Capshaw was born Kathleen Sue Nail in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, the daughter of Beverley Sue (

Simon), a travel agent and beautician, and Edwin Leon Nail, an airline employee. She moved to St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of five, and graduated from Hazelwood Senior High School in 1972. Capshaw earned a degree in education from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi. She taught Special Education at

Southern Boone High School Southern Boone High School is a public secondary school in Ashland, Missouri. It is operated by the Southern Boone County R-1 School District and serves much of southern Boone County, Missouri. It borders the Columbia Public Schools The Colum ...

in Ashland, Missouri, and Rock Bridge High School in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourt ...

. She married marketing manager Robert Capshaw in January 1976 and they had one child, Jessica Capshaw, before eventually divorcing in 1980. However, she kept the surname Capshaw, which she used for her professional name upon becoming an actress.

Career

Capshaw moved to New York City to pursue her dream of acting, landing her first role on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netwo ...

''. After auditioning for a small role in '' A Little Sex'', she was offered the role of the leading lady, which is when she asked for a dismissal from ''The Edge of Night''. She starred in '' Dreamscape'' in 1984, and afterwards was directed by her then-boyfriend

Armyan Bernstein Barry "Armyan" Bernstein (born August 12, 1947) is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. He is the co-founder and chairman of film company Beacon Pictures. Career Bernstein has produced, executive produced, written or direct ...

in '' Windy City''. She met film director and future husband

upon winning the female lead as Willie Scott in ''

'' (1984), a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

to Spielberg's ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ro ...

'' (1981). Capshaw starred opposite

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

, who played

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

. In addition, she appeared as Andie Bergstrom, an appealing and stern yet frustrated camp instructor in the 1986 film ''

'', opposite

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

and

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...

in '' Power'' (1986), and starred as Susanna McKaskel in '' The Quick and The Dead'' (1987) with Sam Elliott. Capshaw also starred in the spy film/romance ''Her Secret Life''. Capshaw had roles in several films throughout the late 1980s into the 1990s. She starred alongside

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

and Andy García in '' Black Rain'' (1989),

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

and

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

in '' Just Cause'' (1995), and

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

and Annette Bening in '' Love Affair'' (1994). She was also featured in the 1997 film ''

The Alarmist ''The Alarmist'', also known as ''Life During Wartime'', is a 1997 crime comedy film written and directed by Evan Dunsky and starring David Arquette, Stanley Tucci, Kate Capshaw, and Ryan Reynolds. The film is an adaptation of a 1990 play written ...

'' with

David Arquette David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster En ...

and Stanley Tucci. In 1999, she starred in and produced '' The Love Letter.'' In 2001, she starred in the Showtime Cable Network

TV Movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

''A Girl Thing'', with

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series '' The West Wing'' ...

Rebecca De Mornay Rebecca De Mornay (born Rebecca Jane Pearch; August 29, 1959) is an American actress and producer. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred as Lana in '' Risky Business''. She is known for her role as Debby Huston in the Neil ...

and Elle Macpherson. She retired from acting after her final screen appearance in the 2001 TV movie, ''Due East''.

Personal life

During the production of the film ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984), Capshaw became close to director Steven Spielberg, whom she later married. Originally an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, she

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...

before marrying Spielberg on October 12, 1991. The two were married in both a civil ceremony and an Orthodox ceremony. There are seven children in the Spielberg-Capshaw family. * Jessica Capshaw – daughter from Capshaw's previous marriage to Robert Capshaw *Max Samuel Spielberg – son from Spielberg's previous marriage to actress

Amy Irving Amy Davis Irving (born September 10, 1953) is an American actress and singer, who worked in film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Obie Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Born in Palo Alto, Ca ...

* Theo Spielberg – son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later also adopted him * Sasha Rebecca Spielberg *Sawyer Avery Spielberg *Mikaela George – adopted with Steven Spielberg *Destry Allyn Spielberg Capshaw endorsed Democratic U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

for re-election in 2012. Capshaw has severe

ophidiophobia Ophidiophobia (or ophiophobia) is a particular type of specific phobia, the irrational fear of snakes. It is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles. The word comes from the Greek words "ophis" (), snake, and "phob ...

, which she discovered on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and led to a scene with her and a snake being cut from the movie by Steven Spielberg.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capshaw, Kate 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from St. Louis Actresses from Texas American feminists American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Converts to Judaism from Protestantism Jewish American actresses Living people People from Fort Worth, Texas University of Missouri alumni Family of Steven Spielberg 1953 births